1616: William Shakespeare, English dramatist and poet, often considered the greatest playwright in history, dies on his birthday in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
1789: U.S. president George Washington and his wife, Martha, move into the first executive mansion, the Franklin House in New York; the White House is built ten years later.
1896: In New York City, Americans sit together in a theater and view a motion picture for the first time.
1954: In baseball, Hank Aaron of the Milwaukee Braves hits the first of his record 755 career home runs.
1969: Sirhan Sirhan is sentenced to death for the 1968 assassination of Senator Robert F. Kennedy; the sentence is later reduced to life in prison.
1985: The Coca-Cola Company announces that it will change its classic formula for Coke; negative public reaction provokes a return to the old formula.
Source: http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/onthisday.aspx
